The North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarship program will make its return to NC State and four other North Carolina education programs starting in fall 2018 after being cut from the state budget in 2011.
The Teaching Fellows program will provide scholarships of up to $8,250 a year in forgivable loans to approximately 160 students statewide that are aiming to become teachers in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) or special education. This program looks to incentivize future teachers especially to work in low-performing schools and fill shortages by subject area.
“[Teaching Fellows] will really help and enhance our recruitment efforts to identify students who may not necessarily think about teaching but realize that with this extra enrichment and incentive that they can do it,” said Anona Smith Williams, associate dean for student success and strategic community engagement in NC State’s College of Education.
In addition to Elon University, Meredith College, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Charlotte, NC State will present approximately 30 students the opportunity to partake in the Teaching Fellows program.
“I feel like Teaching Fellows creates opportunities for people who do have that passion for teaching and those that want to go beyond to get rewarded for their hard work,” said James Daniels, a third-year studying middle grades language arts and social studies.
The return of this program was very exclusive as only five universities were chosen by the NC Teaching Fellows Commission, as opposed to the 17 schools that had been a part of a previous edition of the program in the past. Teacher effectiveness, licensure exams for teachers and internship experiences were among the criteria searched for in universities to host Teaching Fellows.
“It was a very competitive process,” Smith Williams said. “There was a lot analytics involved where we had to prove that we were good at what we do.”
The Teaching Fellows program has resurrected after it was cut due to budgeting through state legislation in 2011.
“A lot of things are political and different things financially were looked at by the state,” said Robin McWilliams, director of the College of Education’s Students Advocating for Youth Living and Learning Village. “Unfortunately, Teaching Fellows was one of the casualties of the budget. It was not due to anything going on with the program or that it wasn’t preparing students to become teachers. It was simply a budget cut.”
With the absence of the scholarship program and lack of teaching incentives, politicians, parents and educational leaders came together to recreate the Teaching Fellows program to fill teaching shortages across North Carolina.
“[Teaching Fellows] is back because there were people and senators that were coming together that saw that there was a need in the state,” Smith Williams said. “We have a shortage of teachers in every county in the state right now.”
The Teaching Fellows program that will start for the 2018-19 year will likely be drastically different from its predecessor. The new version of the program will incentivize participants of the program to teach in smaller counties and lower performing schools, according to McWilliams.
“The schools can kind of create their own program so, there’s a chance for it to be different and better because we can institute some of our own initiatives,” McWilliams said. “At NC State, that is going to mean some STEM initiatives.”
There is excitement within the College of Education as well as other NC State students that are involved in STEM programs for the chance to receive such aid that the Teaching Fellows scholarships offer.
“I support the program as I’m an out-of-state student trying to get my education degree, so the program could definitely help,” said Kimmy Johnson, a first-year studying elementary education. “I feel like those low-performing schools are the ones that need teachers the most.”
Through applying for the program and seeing their enrollment numbers increase for the first time in years, NC State’s College of Education has found itself among the top in teacher production and teacher ratings.
“Our teachers are rated at the top, number one, when it comes to teacher performance,” Smith Williams said. “We are one of the largest producers of STEM-focused teachers in the state. We want to change the climate and culture that currently exists, and we want to put out leaders in the classroom that will transform how we educate students.”
Several students in the College of Education enjoy what their college has to offer with scholarship opportunities such as Teaching Fellows and recognize the potential impact they can have in their future career in teaching.
“It really is a big family of support,” Daniels said. “Everybody here knows and has a passion for kids so, it’s not for the money or accolades. There are various scholarships such as Teaching Fellows and opportunities to get into the classroom.”
The leaders of the College of Education are pleased with the work of their students and seeing positive results to their efforts of recruiting students and hosting a program as impactful of as Teaching Fellows.
“What is really great and unique about this program is that anyone can decide if they want to teach a subject like math or science, transfer into one of our programs and get this scholarship,” Smith Williams said. “We are hoping that students on-campus that are STEM focused will come over and talk to us about this opportunity.”
